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Chipping Controversy

A chipping controversy has begun in New York. Ivan Greene, a New York based climber and the author of the Gunks bouldering guidebook, was candidly filmed chipping holds on a boulder on public land; and yesterday the film was made public by Dead Point Magazine. Though the filmakers remained anonymous, according to DPM's report, numerous attempts were made over the past year by the filmakers and local New York based climbers to stop the manufacturing of holds in the Gunks and other nearby areas. Apparently, their plea did not halt the actions of Greene, and this film was an attempt to save the boulders from further detrimental actions. Ivan Greene has yet to come forward with any explanation; however, his sponsorship through Edelrid has now been terminated. Edelrid posted the following statement to their Facebook feed:

"We would like to state unequivocally that EDELRID does not support the practice of chipping. It is our belief that the challenge, and the pleasure of climbing, lies in rock formations, as they occur naturally. With this in mind we can state that we find the recent behaviour of Ivan Greene to be completely unacceptable, and we would like to take this opportunity to clarify that he is no longer an EDELRID sponsored athlete, and in actuality has not been supported by the brand for over 12 months. We will be removing all references to Ivan Greene from the EDELRID website with immediate effect."

The fine line between agressive cleaning and the manufacturing of holds has long been a controversial topic in climbing. Whether or not Greene's actions portrayed in the video are chipping or aggressive cleaning remains a debatable point. However, the reaction from the local New York climbing scene and the statement from Edelrid seems to categorize Green's actions as the manufacturing of holds.

Chipping, while long practiced and even going back to the first ascent of Yosemite's Outer Limits and initial free attempts on The Nose (the current free variation has a chipped section, the "Jardine Traverse"), is hardly universally accepted. While some locals in sport areas such as Smith Rock and Rifle have tolerated manufactured holds, and climbers in areas with generally blank rock such as that at Riggins, Idaho, accept chipping as necessary, in the staunchly traditional Gunks, any rock alteration including bolting is greatly frowned upon. But chipping of holds on a roped climb is one thing; chipping a boulder problem has few supporters, although it does happen, sometimes after the fact and sometimes unintentionally, such as the improving of a hold due to repeated brushing. We will keep you posted as this story develops.

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Five Fifteen commented on 21-Feb-2013 09:09 PM

To be clear: I do believe that chipping is wrong. I think calling him out on video to the world is a bit extreme even though it seems the stewards of the area warned him and others of their anti-chipping stance. I understand that most everyone is agitated with his actions and rightfully so. But we should use this to create dialogue. If he harms himself as a result of the fall out I would think the videographer could be held liable. I think the videographer should come clean. I wonder if this is fake? You would have to be far away and hidden perfectly to capture this film. Maybe this is like the eagle and baby video that was a fake.

**Additionally, is anything sacred? Where is the adventure when every route is detailed in a guide and then posted online with video? SPRAYing is also depriving others of something. It's like an aura around the climber that acts like this, and it never ends. We all know who you are. How about keep the film for yourself? And yes, I know I could opt out of watching it. My 2 points are summed up here: it's too bad that everything is for everyone and aneyone all the time and instantly: to catch a chipper, to shame someone on a global scale, to get the beta for free without working for it.... it's all the same...it's LAME.